With the U.S. Supreme Court apparently poised to overturn Roe v. Wade — which was revealed in a leaked draft decision document this week — state leaders and a North Coast member of Congress said Tuesday that they have plans to protect women’s reproductive rights in California.
The draft opinion would overrule the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade as well as the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, which upheld the right to an abortion established in Roe.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the document “an appalling attack on the rights of women across this country,” adding, “it stands, it will destroy lives and put countless women in danger. It will be the end of fundamental constitutional rights that American women have had for nearly 50 years.”
The governor continued, “We have a Supreme Court that does not value the rights of women, and a political minority that will stop at nothing to take those rights away. This won’t stop with choice and the right to privacy. They are undermining progress, and erasing the civil protections and rights so many have fought for over the last half century.”
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), whose district includes Lake County, said the draft decision “is deeply troubling and problematic as it would allow states to criminalize abortion and ban it, even in the case of rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother. The decision to have an abortion should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her faith, but this draft opinion would upend that fundamental right and put reproductive care at risk for millions of women.”
He also pointed out that both Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh had said in their confirmation hearings that Roe was precedent and has been reaffirmed multiple times.
“Justice Kavanaugh said that precedent ‘is not just a judicial policy…it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent.’ If Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh are part of this majority decision, they both would be doing a complete 180 degree turn from their confirmation hearings where they stated they believed in precedent and the rule of law under oath,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the draft decision “clearly demonstrates the pressing need for the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine the right to accessible reproductive care for every American.”
On the state level, there are indications that effort is moving forward.
On Tuesday, state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who formerly represented Lake County in the Assembly, said he’s working with other state California leaders to guarantee women’s reproductive rights in California's Constitution.
“Clearly, the court is pursuing dangerous policy, undoing decades of precedent, and putting the lives of millions of women at risk,” Sen. Dodd said. “In California, we will continue to defend a woman’s right to choose as well as access to health care by building a protective firewall in our state constitution.”
Gov. Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said this week that they would ask voters in November to put permanent protections in the California Constitution.
Sen. Dodd said he plans to co-author the bill, which would need a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta also reaffirmed this week California’s commitment to protecting reproductive rights.
He said that, over the next few weeks, he will meet with reproductive health advocates throughout California to help ensure that Californians know their rights and their protections under state law, and how to access reproductive healthcare.
“California values and protects reproductive rights, freedom, and justice,” said Attorney General Bonta. “My office will continue our fight to preserve and protect access to reproductive healthcare. Our position has been clear from the beginning: Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for half a century and it should be upheld.”
Bonta added, “As our state's chief law enforcement officer, I will use the full force of the law to defend Californians' reproductive rights. Reproductive freedom is non-negotiable, and we will continue to fight to defend it.”
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